• Ruan Nilton Rodrigues Melo, Stephanie Carolina Francisco, Caroline de Castro Moura, Kirsty Loudon, Namie Okino Sawada, Érika de Cássia Lopes Chaves, ChiancaTânia Couto MachadoTCMSchool of Nursing, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Prof. Alfredo Balena avenue 190-Santa Efigênia, Belo Horizonte, MG, 37.130-001, Brazil., Denismar Alves Nogueira, Si Jia Zhu, and Ana Cláudia Mesquita Garcia.
• School of Nursing, Federal University of Alfenas, Gabriel Monteiro da Silva street, 700-Centro, Alfenas, MG, 30.130-100, Brazil.
• Syst Rev. 2019 Aug 15; 8 (1): 206.

BackgroundDue to the worldwide rise in cancer incidence, and therefore the rise in the need for antineoplastic chemotherapy, it is important for both healthcare professionals and patients alike that the side effects of chemotherapy, such as chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV), are treated and prevented. Auriculotherapy is a type of acupuncture and may be a low-cost and safe antiemetic measure to control the side effects of chemotherapy. The goal of this systematic review is to synthesize the available evidence in the literature regarding the auriculotherapy effects to treat CINV in people with cancer.MethodsThe review will only include randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that compare the clinical effects of the auriculotherapy intervention (used alone or as an add-on), with sham auriculotherapy, routine treatment with antiemetic drugs, or other non-pharmacological interventions in patients with cancer with CINV who are undergoing chemotherapy. The outcomes to be evaluated are nausea and vomiting: in acute, delayed, or anticipated stages, when induced by chemotherapy. A comprehensive search for studies will be carried out in these databases: MEDLINE via PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, ICTRP, LILACS, CUMED, IBECS, BVS MTCI Americas, Web of Science, Scopus, PEDro, CNKI, and CBMdisc up until December 31, 2018. Only articles in English, Portuguese, and Spanish will be selected. Two independent reviewers will evaluate full texts, extract data, and assess the risk of bias of eligible articles. The quality of evidence will be assessed using Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE). A meta-analysis will be undertaken to assess the interventions and outcomes' homogeneity, assessing statistical heterogeneity using the Cochran's Q test and quantified using Higgins' inconsistency index. If there is insufficient data for a meta-analysis, a narrative synthesis will be presented. This protocol has been prepared according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P) guidelines.DiscussionThe results of this systematic review will summarize the strength of evidence for the use of auriculotherapy in the control of CINV of patients with cancer and will be used to identify evidence gaps.Systematic Review RegistrationPROSPERO CRD42018117513.

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